Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Irish Referendum in Jeopordy if Dutch vote No?

The Irish Examiner asks the question of the future of the Irish referendum if the Dutch rejects the Treaty. The paper reports that Dermot Ahern acknowledged that: “if the French referendum started a rolling No with the Dutch [tomorrow] and so on, it would cause us severe difficulty.” Green Party chairman John Gormley TD said that pressing ahead with ratification when the French had said No, and with the Dutch expected to do likewise, was “completely illogical.” Concerns coming from Bernard Allen, the FG spokesperson are also published: “We want the EU heads of government to make a considered assessment of the implications of the French result and of the result of the impending referendum in the Netherlands.” In the meantime SF wants to scrap the referendum: “It is all very well to say that the Government are just going to push ahead, but what are they going to push ahead with?” asked party chairperson and MEP Mary Lou McDonald. “The constitution has been rejected in France, so it does not have the unanimous support which it requires to come into force.”